Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 3,321 Shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA)

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,321 shares during the period. Snap-on makes up 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.26% of Snap-on worth $39,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Snap-on by 234.7% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 632,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,258,000 after buying an additional 443,333 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Snap-on by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 829,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,815,000 after acquiring an additional 280,997 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Snap-on by 1,786.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 161,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,130,000 after acquiring an additional 152,631 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Snap-on by 34,381.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,760,000 after purchasing an additional 129,960 shares during the period. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services bought a new stake in shares of Snap-on in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:SNA opened at $357.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $284.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a current ratio of 4.18. Snap-on Incorporated has a 52-week low of $252.98 and a 52-week high of $365.35.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $4.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Snap-on had a net margin of 22.13% and a return on equity of 19.44%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Snap-on Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $2.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Snap-on’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $8.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Snap-on’s payout ratio is 38.29%.

Snap-on declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SNA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Snap-on from $290.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Snap-on from $324.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barrington Research increased their target price on Snap-on from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Snap-on from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Snap-on from $336.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.40.

Insider Transactions at Snap-on

In other news, VP June C. Lemerand sold 1,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $336,788.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,283 shares in the company, valued at $648,303.51. This represents a 34.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 12,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.21, for a total transaction of $4,244,095.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,460,167.21. This represents a 18.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,190 shares of company stock worth $8,212,284 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Snap-on Company Profile

Snap-on Incorporated manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users worldwide. It operates through Commercial & Industrial Group, Snap-on Tools Group, Repair Systems & Information Group, and Financial Services segments.